A different life
by Wolfen Man Unleashed
Summary: OK, new chappy up! Naruto universe is being remodeled as I see fit. The mission starts, what surprises will it bring? Anything?
1. Family Life

No pen, no pencil... hate it when inspiration comes a knocking and I am thoroughly unprepared, dontcha? (try writing with the lead point of a pencil you found in the backpack if you wanna see annoying stuff). Anyway.... Before I start the fic.... a few safety precautions. If at any time you feel that the fic is too much for your sanity (I have been told it happens with my writings sometimes) there are 3 mandatory emergency exits. The x in the upper corner of the window, the right next to it, and lastly - a little bit lower than the last two... use any at your own discretion! Now on to the fic.

Oh, wait a second, almost forgot. I do NOT own Naruto, and all I gotta say is thank god, else it would probably suck, no on to the fic (for real this time)

"Naruto niisan! Wake up please!"

"Yeah bro, you said you would teach us some cool jutsus today!"

--Hnrgh? Wuzzat... wait I know those voices... oh yeah, my "cute, adorable, about to die a horrible death for waking me up" younger brothers... jeez how troublesome! Boy, I hate being a role model over here, jeeze dad, coulda warned me about how big a problem that was gonna be! Oh well, first things first...

"C'mon bro, wake up! You did pro-"

--Now, who could've nailed Hayato in the head with a pillow? Huh, why are you all looking at me? .... Wait a second! I'm talking to myself... who the heck is "all" ... going crazy... coffee...

A bundle of bed sheers with some conspicous blende hair sticking out of it started moving. At this the pair of boys standing (ok, one of them is rubbing his head while he's sitting on the floor sorrounded by dirty clothes and ninja scrolls all scattered around) slowly back away fron it, after all, who knows what else hides in the shifting pile.

'Ok, ok, I'm up1 Now why are you two waking me up at.... 5:15!?" (murderous glare from the pile of clothes)

As the small family.... Uhm, quarrel? Yes, quarrel would describe it... somewhat.... well, as the fight slowly progressed we get to see some more of what lays hidden in the pule that seems to be the center of all atention. Slowly, we see a mesh of spikey blonde hair, parts of a pijama clad body, and finally the face. Big blue eyes that, even at this ungodly hour and after it's owner was woken up at it, retain a certain cheer and mirth in it that seems to be contagious; a frown that borders on scolding and whisker marks on both cheeks complete the picture before us. Appearantly, he is finally fed up (and maybe finally awake enough to actually manage to say something intelligent) he interrupts the two other kids in the room.

"I did say I was gonna teach you more stuff today, but I never said "ealy in the morning"!!! Just because of that, you guys will do my chores today as punishment!"

"But, but, niisan! That's not fair!"

"Yeah well, the sun is barely out and I am up! That is not fair either! Now, if you behave, I will teach you one of my favorite moves, sound good?"

At this two very similar faces lit up, their features strickingly similar to the older boy still semi-wrapped up in bed sheets except for the whiscker marks that is.... Hmmm... brothers by the look of things.

"Ok you two, if you want me to teach you anything, you better get out of here and start doing some breakfast quick!"

"Ramen?" hopefull tone and a hopefull face accompany this question.

"He- heck yeah! But you guys also need to eat stuff that is goo for you... so add some fruit too! And milk! Now, scram! I gotta get ready! Another pillow flies through the air hitting the smaller of the two who got out of the room in a fit of laughter, and exited talk, ahh, brotherly love.

-Later-

--I'll never figure out how mom and dad managed to take care of us with their being two of the strongest ninjas and all! I miss them... but at least I remember them, unlike my brothers... damn you Kyuubi! That kinjutsu dad performed sealing you in me sealed their fates... Giving both their lives in exchange for you going away... I lost both parents because of you! Five years is all they had left after you! Five years in which they could at least be with their (then) only son and help him understand. Five years to prepare him for the loneliness, and then two for helping raise my brothers... I think fate had it against me from the start! But... but, they never quit! And neither will I, if this is how I am supposed to live, then I will make the best out of it and make my own way! I—

"Yo, bro, stop day dreaming and help us out with these dishes, so that you can then teach us some cool jutsus!" The nine year old shouted while pointing to a pile of dishes that seemed dirty enough to have spent several days without a glance at it.

"Jeeze Hayato, don't get so angry, I'm coming, ok?"

Annnnnd back to Naruto's mind as the blonde considers what to teach.

--hmmm.... Let's see... they're still both in the academy, but I have already taught them all the stuff they'll learn there... they both have much better chakra controll than I do... thanks to that annoying fox... but not much chakra at that.... So .... A low level fire jutsu oughta do it... hmm, better make it two, that way it'll be offensive and defensive! That will be after the obligatory "concerned big brother safety speach" tm (there you go Max, trademarked this time) of course!—

And so the morning goes for the Uzumaki family

Next: Life of a Ninja

Hope I still have readers left at this poinr, thanks for bearing with me!


	2. Life of a Ninja

OK, a fair warning people, both chapters so far (this included) have been written beforehand, so most of this is processed words, K?

Now for my 2 reviewers so far (plenty more than I expected, I´ll confesss)

Max Knight: Yo dude, thanks for the help on the gender thingy. Also, remember Naruto had the benefit of having his parents for 5 years, and they did their best to prepare him for the future, so they taught him stuff he wouldn´t learn in the academy. And... well, I put this fic on the same day he would´ve normally gotten the mission on the water country... so he´s a genin so far.

Jingi: Hmmm.... Oh well, at least I got an A... even if content wasn´t taken into account, thx for the review! On a double sidenote, not yaoi/yuri and, yes I am a guy. Questions answered!

Ok, on with this story... just one last piece of advise people, if you are not used to writing from right to left, don´t write a fic in it, it can be quite disconcerting when typing it up, trust me! I do not own Naruto!

Ahhh, sunny, beautiful morning in Konohaguero. Birds chirping ((with every other oddball taking wing for no appearant reason), cloudless day, and warm enough to feel really comfortable waering t-shirts (Lame author description, eh?). As we take a closer look to the forest area (Big green expanse of foilage with the ocassional hole in the trees or round clearing in it, training grounds for the leaf nins appearantly). We notice smoke rising out of one of those aforementioned clearings and shouting coming out of it, so much for enjoying a quiet, peaceful morning.

"Ah!!! Put it out! Put it out!!"

"Suiton..."

"Hold still, and it might be easier, bro"

"Yeah, you´re just running around like a headless-smoking chicken!"

And so on.

Pretty soon we see three bundles of smoke and soot moving away from the clearing in the woods and towards the village.... All of them seem to be sporting grins or foxlike smiles.

"OK you two, now you see why I gave you the speech before we started training in this"

"Yeah... well, it would´ve been a little more helpful if you had been a little bit more specific about it!"

"More specific? How so?"

"Well... oh, I don´t know... how about you try "watch where you throw fireballs at" or "when making a wall of fire, look to see that there are no others around that you might care of if they get burned!" "

Quick question, anyone else feels like this might be a good place to put a sweatdrop scene? If so, too bad... I do enough cliche´s as is! And we break this break back to the story!

"Hehe... well I thought that was a bit obvious for me to state it, so I did my brotherly duty, and warned you to be careful with fire in general, more so while learning a fire based technique! That includes wathing out for what you might do with it while practicing or learning it!"

"Yeah, yeah.... So bro, how´d we do?"

"Yeah Niisan, please tell us!" And lo and behold, the smaller one of the three still smoking kids can talk. (Hey... is that a falme still on the bigger one´s back?) Oh well, things are probably a little confusing right now... soooo Introductions! The bigger one of the three, Uzumaki Naruto, number one loudest ninja of Konohaguero and carrier of the Kyuubi. Second in size, Uzumaki Hayato, second loudest ninja of Konohaguero, but number one ninja of his age group! Last in size (and kinda quiet so far... sheesh), Uzumaki Myouga, third loudest ninja of Konohaguero (when not around his brothers, that is) and number one genius of his age group (Hey! There´s like five of em, that was a tough year for us regular kids). Ok, introductions done, back to the lame story... uhm, riiight, worse critic and all.

-Hmm... that´s a good question- Naruto said surprisingly quiet inside his head- I knew that both had MUCH better chakra control than I do... but frankly I was surprised by their progress! Normally it would take some... a couple of days to learn both techniques and they learned it in a couple of hours! Well, Hayato seems to have adapted inmensly well to the fireball... and just a very limited success on the firewall, while Myouga... well Myouga surprised me, since he does excedingly well with both of them. Soo... speaking frankly... either they have much better chakra reserves than I thought... or... I hate to say it, but I´m gonna have to change my training to focus on chakra control... again!-

Instead of answering with such a big, unrealistic speach, he decides to smile and say:

"Well, how well do you think you guys did? Learning the techniques you da--- uhm, nearly... yeah, nearly set the entire forest a fire! I´m proud of you two!" Athis both younger brothers beam with joy. "But, you two have to learn to practice better control over your actions! Oh well, at least now-"

"Uhm... niisan... isn´t it time you went over to the bridge to meet your team? It is almost 10:30."

"10:30? I´m gonna be late! But... don´t you guys have to go to the academy today?"

Two giant sweatdrops form at this, and nervous smiles to acompany them.

".... Oh well... one hour late... we´re gonna have to run for it, and I will have to explain to Iruka sensei... c´mon kits, let´s go!" With a shout all three start running towards Konohaguero.

10:45 AM at the academy, right outside Iruka-sensei´s classroom.

"... and as I was saying Iruka-sensei, I am sorry they are late, it was my fault, I was training with them a bit, and, well time just seemed to slip by real quick."

"...Ano... Naruto... why are you on fire?"

"WHAT?!? I´M STILL ON FIRE?!?"

Just then, a kind looking old lady with a laddle full of water and some really thick glasses, walks by dousing the walkway with water, coincidentially drenching Naruto and extinguishing the fire... you know something? This is the first time I tthink I've seen this lady throw water on someone and that someone not transform into something else... strange.... Enough, mid-story author rant, back to the story.

"hmm.... Ok Naruto, I beleive you, just try to make it happen less frequently from now on, OK? Now hurry up and take Myouga to his class, you know Tousa-san is less forgiving than I am"

"Hai! Thanks Iruka-sensei... hey, what say later we get all four of us together to eat some Ramen at Ichikarus?"

"Sounds good to me as long as everyone pays what they eat and you three donñt leave me with the check," sweatdrop, "like you have done the last thirteen times!" even bigger sweatdrop (as in a sweatdrop that just might be defying the laws of physics by existing!)

"uhm... yeah.. well, you know... gotta go Iruka-sensei, don´t want Myouga to be late and all... I´ll make it up to you someday! Bye!"

And so, (a late) Naruto, after being severely scolded by an infamous Tousa-sensei, made his way to the bridge... when he met a former student of his father.

"Kakashi-san! How have you been?"

Distractedly. "Hmmm.... Oh, hi Naruto!" He quickly puts away a very familiar book, "I´m on my way to get a mission from the Hokage... but, I´m still early, what are you doing?"

"Oh, I´m just going to meet my team! Although I am kind of late..."

"Heh, yeah, it happens... the meeting place is still at the bridge, right? I know a shortcut, want me to go with you and show it to you?"

"Hmmm.... Shortcut...." At this, Naruto thinks it over, reminding himself of Kakashi´s reputation... but he IS desperate and very late... "... sure... why not, c´mon Kakashi, let´s go!"

Two and a half hours later (as if anyone had a doubt of how that would turn out), at the bridge, a lone figure stands wait near the shadows.

I have like another half a page still waiting to write... but I´m not sure if it is that good... heh, oh well, I´ll take my chances and see how it turns out!

"Naruto! You´re late! I let the others go ten minutes ago!What happened?"

"Itachi-semsei! I´m sorry I´m late... but I met Kakashi-san on the way over..." a groan escapes from the figure in the shadows "and well... there was this old lady and-"

"spare me the fake excuses, I´ve heard them all from Kakashi... well, now as punishment... heh, you´ll do extra trainin for being late!" A shout of joy is heard. "and I mean training that even you will not enjoy... in fact, I think not even your pal Rock Lee would enjoy this. Afterwards (and I mean after I consider you have suffered enough), I´ll let you go pack, the Hokage has decided (after the rather lengthy discussion you both had) that it is time you had a C-ranked mission... so get to it quickly, we have to in his office at five... that leaves me roughly three hours in which to torture... er... train you... and a little under an hour to pack... now get to it, we´ll start with a quick warm up..." a dangerous looking smile forms at this "25 laps around Konoha! Hurry up Naruto, we only have three hours in which to do the... training..."

And so, we leave Naruto at the hands of his torturer... err... sensei, comforted in the knowledge that the saying "better him than me" still holds true, even in a fic as crazy as this one.

Next: The Mission

Hehe, I liked this quote, so it goes on for no other appearant reason.

"Oh well, we all go crazy sooner or later..." – sasukeMOS

Later guys!


	3. Mission!

OK, a petición del publico, this fanfic gets a new chapter today! Thx to both my Reviewers Max Knight and Hibiki 54, one on providing moral support, the other one in confirming my fears that as a fanfic writer I suck! Anyway, let's get on with the story fore the universe decides to go practical on me and play me a freaking joke, like it so loves to do! Onwards!

As we float down onto the world of Naruto, we see lush forests, huge expanses of barren lads, rivers, and many different kinds of cities. Instead of focusing on one of these we pane in on a lone tendril of smoke rising out of one of the forests to see a strange concurrence of people, Shinobi by profession, to be exact. It seems to be an early dinner and we focus in on the conversation the 4 individuals are having so far.

"…. But I heard that he's constantly around important members of those clans…."

"What? And even so, even after all they suffered through they still let HIM walk around as if nothing had happened?"

"Yeah, if it was me I'd-"

"If it was anyone of us, things would be very different, but it is not…. That's the reason for this little group…"

"Yeah… it is a risky business… and the presence of those individuals just makes it trickier… we'll have to be extra careful…"

"S#it! Who left the food so long on the fire!?! Anyway, everything is in order… although the old geezer wouldn't have ever helped us if he knew; manipulating him into working things in our favor wasn't so hard"

"Yeah… now it's just about waiting for all the rest of the players to get here… we'll need patience for this"

"Talking about waiting… who wants to play a friendly hand of poker??"

And with that we take our leave from our as of yet undescribed hosts.

Doing a quick run through the forest we eventually arrive at Konohaguero, slipping unseen by the guards (what is a jackass writer and his motley crew of readers made of in a story any way?) and arriving at the bustling Ichikaru's Ramen Stand where we found a trio of blonde kids… vacuuming… disappearing? ingesting? Having a competition on who ate the most ramen while holding a conversation (not a very nice sight so I won't describe it, k?). I'll just describe the conversation without going into too much detail. (By the way, on this description stuff I'm noticing a pattern…. There is none!)

"So… I gotta go on some mission… shlluuurrrp!… and well, you guys are gonna have to…"

"Yeah Bro, we know…. take care of ourselves…. Like all the other missions you… go out on!"

"Ano… nii-san! What time do you leave?"

"I've got to go… meet Yondaime-sama in… half an hour…. More!"

"More!"

"More!"

While waiting for their Ramen orders to come back the conversation continued. Naruto continued talking: "Well, while I'm away I arranged for Iruka to look in on you guys every now and then, so you ought to be well looked after on that regard. If you guys need anything ask him, or Itachi-senseis' family…. And whatever you do, never, and I mean NEVER, let Kakashi accompany you anywhere, ok? Don't want you kits getting used to arriving late anywhere…." Ahhh, brotherly love just fills the air, doesn't it? At this their order of food arrive and they keep on talking about what the younger kids would do in Naruto's absence…

25 Minutes Later, In Front of the Hokage's Tower where Naruto's team is scheduled to meet:

A couple of Genins were chatting in front of the entrance to the tower…. Ok, I lied, one was standing quietly and impassively while the other kept looking around her, then turning to look back at the ground intermittently.

OK, so HERE is where I stop, finally decided to upload this unfinished chapter. I'll hopefully get to work on it after I get back from the beach. This has been in my computer since forever and different reasons have prevented me from finishing it (of which unparalleled laziness is high on the list), however my conscience was eating me up, so I decide to at least post this …. Snippet? Whatever, hope it does ya fine. Oh, next is a random quote from a movie, I liked it so here it is, later!

Wolfen Man Unleashed

"Italian: Atenzione! French: Attention! English: Attention! 'Americanno': Get the fuck out of here!"


	4. Mission, continued

What's happened before:

The Author lies in his bed, half empty bottle of vodka near... err... what's happened before with the story? Oops! OK, Hinata and Shino are waiting in front the Hokage Tower for their sensei and teammate (Uchiha Itachi and Uzumaki Naruto, respectively). Now on to the continuation of chapter 3!

And so, the great ninja village of Konoha lies before us, with the Hokage Monument at our feet we have a panoramic view of the entire village, from here we can easily see some of Konoha's places of interest. For those in need of relaxation and a good bath, the public bath houses, the Ichikaru Ramen Stand, more famous for it's trio of ramen inhaling costumers (always a good show!) than for it's great ramen. The Jounin Lounge, gathering place of Konoha's elite, the ninja academy, building block of life in the village and finally (been waiting for it, right?) the Hokage Tower, where all the business aspect of being a ninja, plus all the political connotations that it brings, are handled. At it's base, 2 individuals of particular interest to us, let's move in and observe as more of this story unfolds.

Twiddling her fingers unconsciously, while moving her head from side to side as if looking for something, the white-eyed girl suddenly asked, "Uhm... Shino-kun

when do you think Itachi sensei and Naruto-kun," a slight blush at this, "will show up? They´re already 20 minutes late, and you know how punctual Itachi-sensei is!"

The silent form next to her took it's time answering, and when he spoke all he said was: "He told us to wait here."

"We-eelll... yes, I know that, but they ARE late, and I've never known Itachi-sensei to be late, and, and... well, I'm just saying that... that... something could've happeneed and-"

Hinata's rambling was cut short by a cry coming from behind her.

" Hey Hinata-chan! Sunglasses! Ready for our mission?" Waving while running towards them came in his usual orange jacket Uzumaki Naruto. Not letting them answer the blonde genin continued. "Sorry we're late, but I was being punished," A cold glare from behind him followed this statement, and, as if being able to sense it he hurriedly continued, "...err, training! I meant being trained by Itachi-sensei! ...and well, that took longer than expected, and then, and then the preparations for the trip took forever! Hyperactive little brothers and all!"

"NARUTO! That's enough yapping out of you! Lets go Inside and see the mission Hokage-sama has given us, shal we?"

"S-sure, Itachi-sensei!"

And so, into the darkness of the tower the 4 Konoha nins ventured in.

Inside of Orochimaru's Darkened Room™

"Hehe, so Naruto-kun's team has gone into the tower at last... about time! It's past due for you to pay Naruto, yes, today you will pay!"

And so, not knowing this, the 4 nins entered the very lair of the snake!

**Author Sidenote** - Had I not posted the preview for chapter 3 I would've left the chappy here, oh well, no evil cliffy here then, on with the story!

Taking a step forward, Itachi entered the darkened room and spoke, after only the briefest hesitation. "Hokage-sama, I've brought my team as instructed, to receive the mission profile." Stiff and formal as was usual in a clan as feared and revered as that of the Uchiha's he spoke. Slowly light coming from a crystal ball on the only table in the room started illuminating the room.

"Indeed... but first I must speak with one of your team...Naruto it's time you payed. Since your Sexy-no-jutsu did not defeat me, you owe me a favor, right?"

Pale-faced and without knowing what Orochimaru might ask for Naruto answere. "H-hai, what is it you want Hokage-sama?"

"Simple enough. Jiraiya's new book just came out, but he's still upset with me over our last competition... and he wont give me a copy. I want you to get an autographed copy of it for me."

Sighing, and with a mutter about perverts and how they seemed to be everywhere, Naruto gladly accepted thinking it could've been worse. After all he could've asked to be invited to an "all you can eat" at Ichiraku's... damned tongue meant he could down 4 bowls of ramen in one swallow! That meant no ramen for him!

"Well, now that that is settled, your mission assignment! Now, I know you've been complaining about your missions being too easy, so... I've decided to give you a slightly tougher one, a C ranked mission. All you have to do is basically escort this merchant from Konoha to his home village and make sure nothing happens to him. Keep him safe from robbers in other words. Do you accept?"

Yeah, not a cliffy people, unless I really go random here, you know the answer. Hope you guys are surprised, appearantly Max was! Thx again to Max, my only constant reviewer, and only reviewer for last chapter, though Nigma... err Enigma did kinda review through messenger. Oh well, hope you enjoy it, next chapter they will actually leave Konoha and get on with the mission. Later People!

Quote of the chapter!

Disclaimer: If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody's around, and it hits a mime, does anyone care?

-**White Dwarf** in the fic **New Guy**


	5. Mission: Go!

Alrighty then! Previous chapter hasn't been posted an hour yet, and I start this one already! Progress! Let's see if my brain (and good ol Lady Luck) decide to cooperate!

Previously:

Hokage: "Mission profile, blah, blah, blah, I got freaky eyes and tongue, more blah. Do You Accept?" (nice recap, eh?)

In the barely lighted room, 4 figures are seen standing in attention in front of a slightly darkened fifth figure. As the fifth figure leans forward on his desk, we await expectantly so as to see what will happen next.

"Hell yeah we accept old man! What do you think we'd say? After all this time fighting for a better mission than rescuing dogs and cats that keep (justifiably so) running away from fat ladies? And you even have to ask? You must be going soft in the head in your 'golden' days!"

"Naruto, please remember you still owe me a favour," replied Orochimaru while smiling a bit too sadistically for Naruto's taste. "I can always change it to something you might like a whole lot less….. something involving Ichikaru's perhaps?"

Following a few seconds of silence, a pale-faced Naruto stammered, "N-no Ho-hokage-sama, that won't be necessary. Pardon my outburst… it's just… that… I'm excited you decided to give us this chance to prove ourselves!" and if that doesn't work… weeelll…. We'll see if that 'crouch of the mighty white tiger' technique I read on THAT scroll really works as promised! Don't want to do the 'all you can eat' night again! Last time was enough for me, thank you very much!

Yes dear reader, a psychic author! Don't ask to go into Shino's or Orochimaru's thoughts though; I'd have to change the rating of the fic! New ratings and all, it not being possible… whatever, so, returning to the scene before us (hit's the play button on the remote control).

In the darkened room, barely lighted by the strange glowing globe in front of him, Orochimaru pondered the on the fate of a blonde haired genin and came to a sudden conclusion! Trix are for kids! That's why they kept asking him to sent genin teams to recover the damned cereal from that blasted rabbit! Not really. He decided to show mercy (plus get an autographed copy of the latest book of his favourite series FREE!) this one time. "Very well, Naruto-kun, I'll forgive your outburst," relief, "for now." back to walking on eggshells, oh well, "Let's move on shall we? Since you have accepted the assignment I will now explain it in more detail. Now, as I have stated before, our client is a merchant of fine cloths who came over here to sell his wares at our market (with huge success if I might add). He has requested our services since his village is some 2-3 days journey from here and along the way a band of robbers recently appeared. They tend to rob at night, when their victims are asleep, so there is no overt danger, just a guarding of our client's money and merchandise." This speech was received by 3 rather impassive figures (hell, when are Itachi and Shino not impassive?) and a finger twiddling, constant gaze shifting and slightly blushing (she was standing next to Naruto-kun! He looked so confident in himself, so sure of his abilities, so… so… blush…) Hinata, all of which did not escape Orochimaru's gaze. –Hmmm… I'm going to have a talk with Itachi about Hinata's attitude. I thought having her, the heir of the Hyuuga, training under the heir of the Uchiha along with the number-one-loudest-ninja-of-Konoha would help her out, but it appears she has a crush on Naruto…. And is scared half to death of Itachi, maybe he reminds her too much of her father? Could be, both are cold, removed and highly demanding authority figures in her life…. Oh well, might as well let the situation keep developing,after all it's still too soon to say how this situation is to end.- "…and that's about all you need to know of the bandits, the area, and the mission. Now to introduce our client…. Shino, pleashe show Mr. Tatewaki in."

Shino quietly walked over to the 'client doors' (ya know, client doors are doors leading to waiting areas where clients usually wait their turn, whereas staff, workers and non-client personel tend to use other, more discreet entrances so as not to disturb the clientele, or not be disturbed by them as may be the case) opened them and proceeded to announce the name of his intended Employer. Following that a majestic)that's what he thought, at least) figure entered the dark room. "Stand aside knave! For I, the noble Kuno Tatewaki-sama can ill afford to lose time with the likes of you! Ah, Hokage-sama, has the elite team of ninjas you intend to assign me arrived? I requested members of both the Uchiha and Hyuuga Families to accompany me! I hear that they are your best fighters. I hope to get both I and my merchandise safely to my stately mannor! I expect nothing but the best! Now, normally I would not endeavour in the acfcruement of ninja bodyguards, my skill with the boken being, after all, legendary, but the fiendish ways those cowardly evil bandits adopt force me to do so at this time and-" At this point, with a raised hand, Orochimaru interrupted, briefly annoyin the brightly clad buffoon…. Err, merchant who regretted the room was not properly lighted so that his bright yellow, red and purple attire could not be properly appreciated by those present (thank god for small favours, eh?).

"Yes, yes, these 4 standing before me are your team. It consist of one member of the Uchiha clan, another one of the Hyuuga clan, as you requested, plus they are both the heirs of their families, the progeny of the Uzumaki clan (his father is the Kyuubi-slayer) and the Aburame clan. They all belong to some of the best known and most respected families of Konoha, and they will see you safely to your home, Mr. Tatewaki, protecting you from…. Ah…. 'cowardly, evil bandits' and what not. They are ready to leave inmediatly."

At this, Mr. Tatewaki answered, "Well, I must say this team is satisfactory, and I must thank you Hokage-sama for doing all in you power to-"

Abrupt Scene change!

A man naked, but for a towel around his midsection, is doing the chicken dance while people all around him laugh and drink merrily.

Random guy #1: "See, I told you this place was great, didn't I? That guy does the Chicken Dance every time! Though last time he had a bit more clothes on… anyway, what could be better than this?"

Not-so-random guy #2 answered without hesitation, and all the conviction in the world. Matter-of-factly if you will. "Cheese."

Some other dude #3: "Heh, you and your cheese Glen, ever think of anything else?"

Not-so-random guy #2 aka Glen: "Crackers. Well, crackers with cheese on them, but crackers all the same."

This was immediately followed by a face fault from his companions. OK, and leaving the group of people Randomly chosen for a lil' refreshment to the almighty muse of this story (tell ya later guys, Pinky promise and stuff) we go back to the subject at hand.

A few hours have passed since the meeting in the Hokage's office with their client, but for Naruto it felt like an eternity! –Evil, fiendish, sorcerous demons this; almighty, just and noble, virtuous boken wielding samurai that; XXX rated rewards by the beauteous, virginal and lovely maidens in distress so courageously saved by the Magnanimous, awe-inspiring heroic Samurai (damn, this guy could help out Ero-sennin with his books…); blah; blah; BLAH! Ladies (well, lady in this case) and gentlemen! The one man freak show that would not shut up! No one has ever seen him be quiet! Many have tried but all failed thanks to the quality and range of his rants which he spouts all about! Come right up! Come right up! Ignore the dried up skeletons to your left! Just some poor ninjas hired to safeguard this freak among freaks! - But wait! Salvation might be possible, well if not that, a stay of execution mayhap!

"Ne, Itachi sensei! I see smoke up ahead, is that a village?"

Not letting his sensei answer, and without missing a beat, Mr. Tatewaki answered, "…surrounded by the mighty-incredibly-evil-about-to-be-smitten-by-my-righteous-sword dragons, yes, that is a village, in fact, that's where we will rest up tonight and sell some merchandise, Naruto-kun; and not being frightened in the least bit by such a terrifying sight I boldly charged ahead, sword swinging…"

"Thank god! I can't stand a minute more of this!" a well placed elbow to the stomach staggers our heroic-blond-overtly-bright hero (damned Tatewaki's rubbing off on me!) courtesy of a certain red-eyed Jounin, "I'm starving and I wanna buy some ramen once we get there. You in on this Hinata?"

"G-go eat ra-ramen with you Naruto-kun?" – He's asking me to eat with him, could this be a date… a date with Naruto-kun? Could it be? (At this point I'm tempted to put up an Inner-Hinata doing the V-sign shouting "Hell yeah, love conquers all!"… meh, maybe I'll do it later.) – and with a blush (always blushing!), "Sure Na-Naruto-kun." While she did this she was making sure not to look at him, anywhere else but him! "If… if you really want to that is…" Finally looks up at him expectantly with all her hopes up… only to see him pestering Shino to go too.

"Awww, c'mon Sunglasses! Come get some ramen with us! Don't you want to eat some ramen with us once we get there?"

At this, Hinata looks dejectedly at the ground thinking – Not a date….-

"Yosh! We're there! C'mon Hinata-chan! Sunglasses Shino! Let's go look for some ramen!" And thus, grabbing both their arms, the brightly-orange-clad-nin breaks into a run looking for ramen, trusting his natural depredator instincts and his nose to lead him true.

Shaking his head and muttering something about thinking with their stomachs instead of with their heads, aside from abandoning their mission, Itachi addressed his, now, only present travel companion. "Well Mr. Tatewaki, what shall we do first? Go sell some of your merchandise or go look for a place to sleep?"

Sometime Later, in an encampment within a forest glen…

"Finally some news! The target has finally left Konoha and is heading this way! We must be ready before they get here. Send a pigeon to our informer. He must also be ready for when we strike! Fallen but not forgotten!" At this cry, multiple voices answered back from the darkness, "Fallen but not forgotten!" Slowly the light given off by the fire starts fading off and we start losing sight little by little of the scene. The darkness with it's myriad of stars above us is the only indication we have of the scene before us, and one by one they start going out. And that's how this chapter ends.

Dang, wrote this thing up in 2 different parts, just about halfway through I hit…. Not a block, more like a part where I knew what was coming up, and the non-surprisiveness of it robbed me of any and all will to write that up. Yeah, had to do the chicken dance part to gain momentum, it has 0 to do with the story (as of right now that is, might change later on) so you could ignore it. OK. Now review related rants! (Note to self: re-read reviews to freshen up later on…. Oh, and erase this parenthesis when typing this up! Yes, this means you!)

Figment of my Imagination #1: Heh, yeah, loved your review, funny as hell! And yeah, you are right about the whole fire deal, but hey, had to give this a different kind of spin. Specially on the whole Uchiha perception part. Trying to challenge that. Anyway, thanks for everything else and I also hope more real guys/gals review just so I don't have to make replies to imaginary reviewers. Thx!

Max Knight: Hey Max, Mr. Tatewaki indeed! And well, being a Knight of the Square table, I had to do a character insertion of sorts. Hope you enjoy, and maybe the other Knights too. Later! Good luck on the website man!

Sirael Lythling: Heh, good voice? Good, gonna have to work up on the audio recording of this next… writes in notepad good voice, heh, thx for the reviews, oh, and don't worry bout the accents, they change from operating system to operating system, and keyboard setting to keyboard setting, it get's frustrating. Podes practicar Español escrito conmigo, no hay ningún problema con eso, pero el hablado seria con alguien que viva más cerca, ¿no crees? Suerte con eso, ¡espero ver mas reviews tuyos!

Next up! Suspense! Drama! And General Insanity Ensues!

The author is sent to the mental institution!

Heh, Kidding. Next Chapter: Underneath the Underneath.


	6. Dang

A Different Life

Chapter 6 :

Disclaimer : **Insert Standard Disclaimer…. That a suggestion or a demand? Anyway, don't own Naruto… barely have 11 bucks to my name! Need a job!**

Author's Note : Dang, first round of tests come and gone, second round too! Took me a while to get started on this again, huh? Oh well, let's see what kinda stuff I spout next (Don't worry, had the standard de-kuno-xication: lots and lotsa beer!)  
Yay, happy birthday to me! (31st of may just so you see how lazy I am!). Oh well, just decided to keep track of how slow I with this. June 19 and I haven't quite started yet, surprised? Don't be… yah, I'm a busy bum. Oh well, let's move on to trying to write the story….

Today's Experiment…. FAILURE!

07-01-2005

(Actually 01-07-2005 for me, but my watch is made in the USA, oh well…) The trip has been long, the perils endless, and even after so much, the end remains hidden behind a wall of false hopes and Illusions, I am beginning to despair…. Will I actually manage to continue my fic? Or will the fate of so many other would-be-authors be mine as well? Only one way to find out, I will try again….

GIANT LETTERS MOVING FROM BOTTOM TO TOP, GROWING SMALLER AS THEY GET NEARER THE TOP OF THE SCREEN:

**Sorry Mario,**

**But The Princess Is In Another Castle**….

Damn, I hate that… Moving ON!

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Stride, skip, swerve, STOP! Dodge, bend, rebound, throw kunais, sidestep, dodge deflected kunais, be forced to walk into that ever-present trap right there, Kiwamari outta there, dodge other trap (falling tree) where I reappeared at… sheesh, if these guys are plain old regular bandits I'm a three legged chicken…. Let's check… 2 legs? OK, not regular bandits…. Sheesh, punch, jump, avoid kick to the guts, roll out of there

…. This taijutsu style looks very fami-urgh, IDIOT! Concentrate on surviving first, THEN analyse… some of these guys are just too damned good for my continued well being…. I wonder where the others are and how they are doing… Hinata-chan, sunglasses, cold-hearted teach…. Errr Itachi-sensei (Kuso! Even calling him that in my mind and I feel his very reaction to it… not human…) Heh, gotta find some way to turn things around, somehow….

- Abrut Scene Change -

While that small melee is happening just a few feet from where we are (deeper into the forest than we are looking at right now), also let's take the chance to look around. It's night-time, the embers of a scattered fire can still be appreciated all around us, ruined tents lie at our feet, half eaten meals and turned over packs finish setting the mood for this small part of the forest. The smell of blood and smoke fills the air; discarded weapons are everywhere, some even imbedded on trees. The sounds of fighting are all around us, but nary a sign or sound of animals in the forest is evident… Let's try to understand what happened here before "the fun" begun.

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10 Hours Earlier, 12:05 PM, in a sunny village

"OK, OK, so you guys didn't like the chicken-dance-anthon the other day so much, but I bet this'll cheer you up and make up for the other day…. WOMEN MUD WRESTLING!- this was heard just as the doors to a bar were suddenly thrown open…" said a familiar figure with blonde hair. Beside him were three other figures.

"Heh, that sounds great man! IF it's true, cause all I see is a mud-pit and some people running after pigs…. No scantly clad women mud wrestling each other!" said the one with spiky hair.

"I knew you'd like I- SAY WHAT?"screamed the blond man. "Hey! Waitress! Over here! I got a question, what's happening here today? Where's the MUD WRESTLING COMPETITION?"

"Mud Wres… Oh, my! That was yesterday honey, around ten at night. You missed it, today's the 'Catch the greased pig' competitions, if you want to join in I think you can still sign up, or you can watch from one of the tables, will you be wanting anything to drink?" said the waitress.

"10 pm…. Hmmm, it sounds familiar… I got it! Wasn't that the time we were at the chicken dance-athon yesterday? Shit….. uh, well guys, maybe we can enjoy the greased pig competition, ya know, it doesn't sound so ba…. Errr… guys? Hey guys, put the weapons down! Let's talk about this, ok? please? Hey, Max, nice sword! Where'd you pull it out off? I mean that double edge looks… veeery sharp…. Oh… no, man, I mean, c'mon! It's a Chinese Sword an all, and- Holey Moley! It's raining cheese outside!" cried the blonde.

Everyone (and I mean everyone, even the pigs!) in the bar turns to look over at the window, meanwhile the blonde high-speeds it outta there. One of the blonde's companions face looks ecstatic, while all the others just look from curious, to damned surprised. Soon as they notice 2 things (A. It's not raining B. Trix are for Kids!) they all turn to the blonde who just psyched em all, who is long gone.

"Oh man, he just made a fool out of us…LET'S GET HIM!"

At this, the entire bar empties out, and goes after the blond, the pig-riders having a tough time staying atop their mounts cause of all the grease…

Hoookay…. Wrong blonde and friends… why do those guys keep popping up? Anyway, back to Naruto and company.

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Another Sunny Village, 3 Hours Later

We focus in on a busy marketplace, people wandering everywhere, looking at the colourful stands of every kind: Food stands, pottery stands, fine cloth and clothes stands, game stands, etc. As we fly by, intent on reaching the Ramen stand right by the corner we barely have time to notice a tall, pale, dark haired, red-eyed man watching over a …colourfully clothed man trying to send all kinds of clothes and cloths to all the ladies he can see (strangely so, he ignores the men, then again, few of them even go close to his stand, preferring the okonomiyaki one two stands down, or the "Blacksmith's Forge" right next to it). Confirmation we ARE in the right village this time (only took some… 3 HOURS? Well, 3 hours to find… grumble hibiki grumble)

"Ano… Hinata-chan, you barely touched your ramen. Was something wrong with it? Or… is it..." -heart thumps-".. that you don't like RAMEN? B-but…. How? Ramen is a god-sent food! How can you not like it?" A panicking Naruto started to yell at this point, all of a sudden feeling the world turning upside down and playing dead!(Fetch boy, FETCH!)

To this, we see Hinata sweatdropping, crazy anime style-like, and she struggled to talk quickly and calm down her panicking and, by now, hyperventilating (did I mention overtly loud?) team-mate, going in so far as to grab him by both shoulders (Oh, if he wasn't panicking and screaming, I could just lean on to his face and blush), shake him slightly and say:

"Uhm, N-Naruto-kun …. I … It's just that… while we were waiting for you once we finished packing… we went and had lunch… so I wasn't THAT hungry to eat the jumbo sized ramen you insisted we all have." whispered Hinata.

Blank Daze, eyes wide open annnnnnnnnd twink twink "Oooooh, why didn't you say so sooner? Here I was thinking that one of the persons I like doesn't like Ramen" And, once again, Hinata is in her own dreamworld at hearing that Naruto "likes" her (Me! Oh, he likes me? I could /CENSORED DUE TO EXTREME GUSHYNESS/)

" Oh, there's Itachi-sensei! Let's ask him where we are gonna be sleeping tonight…" then, remembering his tortur… err… training, yes, training earlier, Naruto decides to dodge the bullet, and have some fun at his team mates expense " Neh…. Eyeglasses! Since you haven't talked all day, and you need to practice being more outgoing, how's about YOU ask him? Stay quiet if you agree!"

"……….."

"Then it's settled, you ask him!"

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Later on, within a forest

Damned Itachi-sensei! I mean, I don't know why he has it against me! It was Shino who asked him (no matter if he did it at my say so), but he makes ME carry EVERYONE'S gear PLUS Mr. Tatewakis' wares! He's beyond mean, he's sadistic! Well, at least he didn't take my ramen away this time…. Oh well, might as well enjoy the fresh air tonight. It seems different… fresher, maybe a bit richer… but it has a kind of "cold" metallic undertaste to it…

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Inside Naruto's Navel

Hehehehe… change is coming. He doesn't recognize it for what it is, but I do… the smell of promise. Of blood, death, fear, revenge, FREEDOM! I'll have my vengeance, and I'll make all humans regret their ever being born! Fire, death, terror, death, carnage, DEATH! I can already hear the screams, smell the fear, feel the rumbling of the earth as it too fears my return… Pathetic humans, I will enjoy the slaughter. Fear it, for I come soon… hehehehehe….

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Back with Naruto

… don't know what it could be… oh well, hopefully it'll be nothing bad… anyway it's almost nightfall, we'd best be finding a place to set up camp shortly…. Knowing Itachi-sensei I'll probably have to do most of the work! Heh, guess he must be psychic or something… we finally stopped.

At this the travelling group came to a halt in a small clearing, whereupon the overtly serious, pale, dark haired man started giving orders.

"Naruto, start setting up camp for tonight! Shino and I will go looking for some wood over there. Hinata, start setting up traps on the other side, Shino and I will help close up the perimeter once we have all the wood we'll need. Tatewaki-san, please make yourself comfortable and remain within the clearing, we'll have the camp fully set up in a few miutes and dinner started shortly after that. Now, MOVE!" ordered Itachi to his team.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu"

3 guesses as to who that was. Anyway, pretty soon a dozen or so blonds were busy pitching up tents, clearing a fireplace, securing the food and getting out all the gear they would need to spend the night-soon he camp was fully set up, food was prepared (not ramen) and then eaten and then the guard duty was assigned. (Naruto got the third shift, Hinata got the second and Shino got the 4th. Itachi had volunteered to go first claiming that he didn't feel tired at all, unlike his students, who could use the rest)

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Da Actual Fight

Yet Another Camp Site, Same Forest, Only Deeper

A mysterious figure slowly approached the fire, silently conferring with the other figures who came to challenge his progress, after a few minutes, he was allowed to pass on to the central fireplace where a strongly built guy brooded alone.

"Sir! Our spy reports that our target took the eastern trail into the forest just a few hours ago, they should not be very far right now!"

At this, the figure stood up, and exclaimed."Excellent! We'll strike up camp (don't want to leave any traces of our being here, now do we?) and head out towards the eastern trail. Once we find them, we attack. Everyone remembers why we are fighting them? Good. Show no mercy… just like WE were shown none!"

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Dreamscape

Mom! Dad! They're alive! But… but I thought the Kinjutsu had finally taken them away! Hayato and Myouga are with them? The whole Family is together again! Wait for me guys! Wait for me! Wait… where's this red glare coming from? No! It's surrounding me, pulling me down, it's keeping me from my (LITTER KITS) brothers, my mom and (THAT MAN! THAT OH SO DESPICABLE MAN!) dad! NO! I won't allow it! Even if I have to bite and claw my way over any (SMOKE FILLED DEVASTATED RUINS) anyone anywhere! (DEATH, PAIN, SUFFERING! BLOOD?) I'll---

**BOOOM!**

What the? Smoke? Blood? Sweat?… wait… THINK! I was dreaming… dreaming? A dream, but it was so… FOCUS! What woke me up? Why does it smell that way? Traps! Explosive ones at that! They were laid by my team! Get out of bed NOW and get some gear on! Wait, my team… Hinata-chan, sunglasses.. Itachi-sensei? Loud-mouthed-idiot-client-thingy? I hear fighting! Under attack! OK, first things first. Deny enemy information, or as much of it as possible… Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! Send the clones out, search for everyone and try to sow some confusion on whoever is attacking. Now the-Killing intent! JUMP! Kunais? Not your usual bandit hardware, but not that uncommon either thanks largely in part to missing nins. Shit, here they come! Punch! Doge, kick, jump, no time to think, none for jutsus either… gotta rely on my instincts right now, while I can figure things out some more. Shit! They're pushing me into the forest and away from the camp! Where's everyone?

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**

END NOTES! START HERE!

Freaking cliff hangers, sorry people, the juice ran out right about here, need to go buy more Tang. Didn't mean to have the cliff hanger here, but it happens. More will come when it comes. Thanks to Max Knight, my beta for this chapter, might even be for others. Did a good job (you notice the disclaimer? He reminded me of that one!). And all the reviewers, just wish I had more of those, oh well. Later y'all!

Next Chappy:

The mission ends, Status?


End file.
